A blog about my thoughts and my love of artwork as it develops. It reflects some of the basic steps that I go through to achieve the artwork which is eventually presented to Spicher and Co, an innovative design firm that manufactures artwork for the trade. The why, what, how, and where are a few of the questions that I attempt to answer as I blog away! This is a tiny window into the life of a painter, and my hope is that my love for life shines through in the objects that I work to create.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Painting the mermaid

and Creating the Composition

She's Painted and cut out, I love
her sweet expression

I have the backdrop finished, almost. I may create some more shadows in the water as I progress thru the painting. This is when the painting really starts to get interesting. It is all coming together, the colors are building... Pretty soon, I will have a finished piece!

Here (below) was where I finished up at the end of last week. The frame is still not finished. I will post some pictures of that, too, as I get to that step of the process. For now, I have placed this lemon gold frame over the painting because it is almost the correct size, ironically.

After I drew the mermaid (see the previous post), I carefully painted her and then cut her out. I am now at the place where I must decide where to place her on the painting.

Can you tell that she is ON TOP of the painting? She is not securely fastened yet. I want to be certain of the composition.

The next thing I had to paint was the sailor. He is fishing and is in the background. He will be catching a MARLIN. Here are some reference pictures that I took off the internet that I liked.

I have not painted this yet.

Here is my sailor. I love his pinstriped pants!

I will paint the fishing rod tomorrow as well as the Marlin. There is going to be a ship in this piece, too. It will be on the right side. I may add a shell or two and a scripture about the loaves and fishes that the customer requested. It will be really a neat and meaningful painting when I am finished. Sorry this process has drug out a bit. You know what they say,

Friday, March 25, 2016

The Pencil Sketch

The Loaves and the fishes

I have been busy painting the background on this custom piece and am ready to start painting the mermaid. I need a good solid pencil drawing before I proceed. I want to make sure it is just the way I imagine it.

Antique Field Book, 1929

I have always adored this book. I thought the fish on it were so pretty. I used this for my inspiration when drawing in the fish. The mermaid is carrying a shell filled with fish and a few loaves of bread.

I spent a lot of time on the shape of her tail, too. When you look at her tail, you can sort of see the legs within the shape. This was what I was aiming for for the final pencil draft.

I hope you are not distracted by the color of the paper on this, I left it the way it was because I felt it added some interest. It will have no impact whatsoever on the final painting.

The inside of this book is full of mostly pencil illustrations, which I really enjoyed looking at.

Recognize her?

This is from my favorite pasta box. I snapped a picture of it a long time ago. I think this girl's posture is so beautiful. I LOVE IT. I used this for my inspiration for my mermaid, although, my lady is much older and mature. You can sort of get the idea from this exactly what I was trying to accomplish.

This mermaid is going to have (at its final destination) a back drop that is a light grey. The customer lives at the beach and this will go to the left of her kitchen. Although, I don't have the exact color, I do have one room in my home that is a light grey. To get a feeling of what that might look like, I have included a picture.

This shell tray was painted long ago by me. I have always liked it and have kept it over the years moving it fromroom to room. What do you think of that light? That was a goodwill purchase. It was an ugly brown with an even uglier shade. I replaced the shade and sprayed it white, selecting some of my favorite shells to go inside.

I have a big frame that just happens to be the exact size of the frame that this will go into when finished. The final frame will not be gold leafed. It will be a walnut color (no sienna) and will be hand grained.

The little guy in the back ground will be there in the big piece, too, but he will be catching a very specific typeof fish. Check back to see what it is!!

Just to keep it fresh in your head, this is the reference piece that the customer seen and loved. Can you tell that she is 3-D? Can you see the shadow on her tail?

The painting that I am custom doing is larger than this one (below) but you can get the feel.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

I have directed the ravens to supply you...

Take notice of the Bird's nest

Deep inside the book of I Kings in the BIBLE, Chapter 17:4, there is a scripture about the Ravens. The verse goes as follows, "I have directed the Ravens to supply you." I like the sound of this! This message is hand written on the bottom near the tree.

The colors are the same as the others and blend well.

I love the mountains in the back-ground and the light blue sky. The birds sitting on the branch sort of suggest that they are there to provide and protect.

I love the LEMON gold frame.

This is the second ROUND frame and I think having 2 ovals thrown into this mix really will make for a nice display for my UPCOMING Doylestown show in September 2016. I intend on having a nice collection of smaller pieces.

This is what it looks like NOT in the frame. I painted it in a square format so that I can have a print made off of it.
Spicher and Co will sell this come APRIL 2016
www.SPICHERandCo.com

Here is a photo of all six together. They really look nice together and I am really pleased with the outcome.

Recently, I came across some wonderful gold leafed frames. They were round ones and I thought to myself, wouldn't these be a beautiful addition to my tree silhouette series? I am painting these for Spicher and Co and they will be available as a print; however, I am also painting these for my show in September 2016 in Doylestown, PA. I felt that the silhouettes were folky and fun and different, making them a nice addition to my show.

I would date these frames to be around 1930-35. The smooth one maybe earlier. The upper one was marked Philadelphia on the glass.

I loved the filigree on the top upper frame and felt that it would work well with the theme of this painting.

The scripture Song 3:4
I have found the one whom my soul loves.
This is written across the bottom of the tree.

I even love the crack down the center of this frame. Isn't it neat how imperfections can sometimes be what makes something unique and beautiful?

Wouldn't this make a neat marriage painting? The love tree!!

Here are the five paintings that I have done so far. You can see how nicely they all will hang together.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

For my mother, with LOVE

I was digging around in a storage area of my home and found this little treasure. This was how I got my start 25 years ago. I painted FRAKTUR.

What is Fraktur?

Fraktur is both a style and an art form, it is a fancy colorful artistic expression using ink and watercolor. It is a type of folk art and was created by the Pennsylvania Dutch around 1740 and enjoyed more than120 years of popularity. It usually heralded a message--a birth, a death, a wedding. One of the reason's that I loved Fraktur was because my mother collected it. Being from Pennsylvania, of course, helped. It was part of my culture. I was surrounded by this look.

When my mother passed away in 2008, my Dad gave this back to me. I am very happy to have it. It makes me think of my sweet mother.

I think it looks nice on this old paint table. I am going to keep it here.

Although, I would never think of selling this, I would be willing to do something like it. Message me if you are interested.

Look at the little slash marks that I put on the frame. This was a new frame that I had distressed to make look old. Such fun. Mom loved it!!

Friday, March 4, 2016

The loaves and the fishes

I am working on a large scaled mermaid original for a special customer. This painting is quite involved, and I thought it would be fun to allow you to follow the process.

This is the inspiration piece that I painted back in August 2015

What caught the customer's eye? Besides the colors, she liked the 3-D effect that was created. (See tail) She liked the message, as well. This above piece was named, Consider the birds. I really like birds and the symbolism that they hold and my customer appreciated the story that this painting told.

The frame is going to be grained for this custom piece. However, It will be more on the walnut scale as far as the color with less of an orangey red base like the one above.

LOVE THIS COLOR. This is a Benjamin Moore paint, I THINK.

My painting will go on this wall to the left of the cabinets.

I love this soft sea foam wall color.

I am going to skip a few steps here, but I have been working on the backdrop for this painting. Here is what I have come up with so far. I may darken the ocean some...

I have yet to add some rocks and a fisherman! I will have a marlin on the line, too!

Check back next week. I will be adding to this. The mermaid will be holding a plate of loaves of bread and fishes. I am excited to develop this painting.

Uh-Oh!!

An unfortunate mishap!

This is actually in 3-D

Its hard to see the 3D effect here, so I am going to make this a little easier and add a pencil! You'll see!

This little guy is actually attached to the tail.

How about this picture! and look at that frame! I really love it! The glass is wavy and old, which is an added bonus. (Glass not present, yet).

The whale spray jets forward

Here is a shot with the frame and the painting in its entirety. You can see the makings of another painting in the background.

I love the soft blue green in the foreground. It really nicely accents and makes the whale stand out. The tail is in 3D, too.

I really spend a lot of effort on making certain that all of my paintings hang well with each other. Buy with confidence, they will all 'go' together.

All the colors sort of blend. You can tell that this painting is done by the same hand as my others. See below.

You can purchase my originals by messaging me or thru my KOLENESPICHER Etsy store. Sorry, but I don't have anything up currently, as everything has sold. However, You can still look at what I have offered in the past.

Thanks for looking today. Please check back for more updates. For instance, I am doing more trees, and I am ready to start another 3-D mermaid! That is what the big ocean scene is for in the background.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

...More Bathing Beauties

Layering artwork with decorative objectsI like the idea of a white frame.

I love to layer artwork with like objects. In this above photo you are looking at one of my Bathing Beauties and some of my prints and seashell original paintings. The seashell jugs were made back in the 60s for my grandmother and given to me.

I like how this looks with the vintage/antique Red, white and blue quilt.

This looks very 'seashore' to me. I really love it. Over the years I have collected a lot of quilts, this red, white and blue one is my absolute favorite. Here are all of them paired with the partner that I felt went well together.

He is navigating a toy boat, she is watching!

He has a trowel for digging shells along with the goggles (around his neck) andshe is holding the shells as they are found.

He is fishing and she is watching! Love the Fisher T-shirt.

He is tossing the ball and she is watching (sort of).

Nothing like a refreshing beverage, seaside!

Go Fly a kite! Try it in the water!

In this picture you are looking at sections of the whole lot of them. They were very time-consuming to paint but well worth it. They are light, and fun, and full of interest. If you are interested in purchasing the print of this, they all will be available thru Spicher and Co in April 2016. You can also message me, I can get anything you want!!

www.Spicherandco.com is the company that I paint for. These and many others will be on display at the Commerce and Design Building in High Point, NC April 2016 at the Furniture Market!